


Valley Girl

by The_Amber_Pen



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, No really Penny's Had it Tough, Penny's Hardships, Slow Romance, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, so fluffy i could die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25764931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Amber_Pen/pseuds/The_Amber_Pen
Summary: A sweet, slow-burning romance with Penny and the new farmer in town, mixed in with some heart-warming bonding, adventure, teamwork & a little danger.When a new farmer moves into Pelican Town, Penny is faced with her worst fear - socialising with a friendly stranger. Can she bring herself out of her shell, and get what she really wants out of life? Or will she continue to let her introverted nature and her alcoholic mother bring her life to a grinding halt?
Relationships: Penny/Male Player (Stardew Valley), Penny/Original Male Character
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	1. First Encounters - Spring 2nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this story, we'll be jumping through Penny's timeline, each chapter is a new and meaningful interaction between Penny and John as their relationship grows and develops.
> 
> **Tuesday, Spring 2nd, Year 1.**

It had taken two hours to work through the mess that her mom had left last night. It wasn't just the usual dirty dishes and piles of beer-stained clothing, either. Pam had evidently hit the booze pretty hard last night, and hadn't quite been able to keep all of her dinner from spilling out. As she scrubbed the lounge tiles clean of her mom's vomit, Penny grimaced as she recognized chunks of the chicken casserole she'd cooked the night before. Just across the room, Pam was passed out on the sofa, her hand still half-clutching a can of Joja Light Brew.

After a few minutes, Penny had managed to lift most of the stains off the tiles. Well, the big stains that you could see, at least. She sighed to herself at the sight of her unconscious mom, and began moving the detergent and scrubbing brush back under the kitchen sink.

There was a churning guttural noise from the sofa, followed by her mom's thick, rum-stained voice. "You cleanin'?"

"Just tidying up a few things, mom." Penny replied softly, trying not to help wake her up. She'd already decided that it would be best if she could slip out without confronting her.

"Don't forget the dishes."

"I know, mom." Penny tried desperately to contain the tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Good girl." There was the sound of the sofa squeaking and creaking as Pam rolled over.

"Mom…" Penny swallowed. "You'd vomited again."

There was a short, painful silence.

"So what?" Pam grunted.

"Mom, you know that drinking this much is really bad for y-"

"Don't you talk to me like that."

"Forget it, mom."

"I mean it."

"I know, please forget it, mom."

A great, enveloping sadness washed over Penny. In recent years her mom's drinking problem had gotten much, much worse. To the point that being passed out seemed like her default state. Clearly, though, Pam wasn't too concerned about it, as she'd soon gone back to snoring thickly.

Penny glanced around the trailer. She'd always been ashamed to live in such a thing, especially as they were the only ones in Pelican Town. Probably the only ones in Stardew Valley, for that matter. Still, that same shame had instilled in her the desire to give the kids of Pelican Town - Jas and Vincent - the best education she could. No one else in the valley was prepared to; there wasn't even a school. And without a proper education, they might not be able to afford a future beyond a trailer. She shuddered at the thought.

With a hesitant glance at her mom, Penny grabbed her book off the table and made her way outside. She had a little time to herself before she was teaching Jas and Vincent, and her favorite way to pass the time was to find a nice, quiet spot to read her book. Preferably away from her mom. First, though, she needed to stop by Pierre's general store. Once again, her mom had somehow finished off all of their bread. _Probably to soak up the booze_ , Penny thought.

Stardew Valley was in the midst of a blooming Spring. Flowers were blossoming all across the valley, and the air was thick with the smell of freshly cut grass and the gentle hubbub of distant, friendly voices. As she made her way across the yard towards Pierre's, Penny clipped back her copper-red hair with a small yellow clasp, trying to hold on to her book at the same time. Whilst she was struggling, she managed to walk straight into someone's back, her book dropping to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Penny reached down to pick up her book. She stood back up to see Sam, smiling back at her. Immediately, she felt nervous. Sam had always been really kind to her, and even though she struggled with most people to be herself, she felt more herself around him than anyone else. But with his bright blonde hair, charming smile and admirably laid-back attitude, Penny couldn't deny the warm, fuzzy feelings she felt towards him. It ended up meaning that Penny felt both more herself and yet more nervous around Sam than with anyone else. Queasy. A little bit lovesick.

"That's okay, Penny! Lost in your book again I see."

Penny blushed. "No, actually, I wasn't, I was-"

"Don't worry about it! Hey, check out my new trick."

When Penny glanced at his feet, she realized he was standing on a skateboard. How she hadn't managed to knock him off, she wasn't sure. She nodded meekly at Sam and stood back a few paces, clutching her book to her chest and watching his board. This was more often than not her response to being cut off; going quiet. Which was fine by her, she had never quite got the hang of socializing, anyway. At least not comfortably.

Sam did a small jump and flipped his board over completely before landing on it again. With a huge grin on his face, he leapt off the board.

"What do you think?"

Penny smiled, and offered her usual compliment. "It's really cool, Sam."

"Thanks Penny, you're awesome." Penny's blush resurfaced. "Oh hey, Abby, check this out!"

Before anything more could be said, Sam had mounted his skateboard again and began riding over towards the town square, where Abigail was passing by. In that moment, Penny felt a pang of jealousy, and a little bit of contempt for Abigail. Which was completely unfair, she knew that. Abigail had always been kind to her, and Sam was just excited to show everyone his trick. That's all.

Still, _she didn't have to smile and laugh that much._

Shifting her thoughts to the back of her mind, she kept walking towards Pierre's. With a quick glance at the town calendar to see if anything was coming up, Penny slipped inside the store. It was definitely busier than usual. Most of the time, Penny only ever found Pierre at his counter and an otherwise empty store. Sometimes Mayor Lewis would be there pondering over the best fertilizer to use for his front garden, or Emily might be found browsing the fresh fruits and herbs, or even Marnie might pop in to stock up on groceries, but it was usually one at a time at most.

But this time, there were at least five people in the store.As far as Penny could tell, one of them was a complete stranger. It took her a few seconds before it clicked, but she realized that the stranger must be the new farmer that was moving in to the valley. He'd been the topic of the town for a week or so now, and everyone was pretty excited to have a new face moving in. Somehow, he looked a lot younger than she'd imagined. In her head, a farmer was an old to middle aged man with a pitchfork, dirty overalls and maybe a smoky pipe and tweed cap. The only bit she'd gotten right was the cap.

Pierre was behind the counter as usual, but this time he was leaning forward with a big grin on his face, pushing his glasses further up his nose and joining in with the group's conversation. On the other side of his counter stood Robin, Demetrius, Evelyn and the man she didn't recognize.

Robin was the town carpenter. She offered her services around to everyone, whether it was just fixing a leaky roof or building a brand new shed, she was happy to help. She looked even more happy than usual though, and if Penny had to guess, it would be because the new farmer would need a lot of construction done. Demetrius was Robin's husband, and although Penny had never really talked to him one-on-one, he seemed like a nice man. In thinking about it though, she realized that she had no idea what he did for a living other than that he was some sort of scientist.

Evelyn, on the other hand, had talked to Penny a great deal. She was a very kindly old lady, who spent most of her time looking after her husband George, who was, as of recent years, wheelchair-bound. At every social event that Stardew Valley held, if Evelyn was there she made a point of talking to Penny, even if she really didn't have much to say. Although she seemed to do that with everybody. Her wispy grey hair was always kept perfectly, and Penny struggled to remember if she'd ever seen Evelyn when she wasn't smiling.

Before anyone could really notice her coming in, Penny slipped into an aisle on her right and began browsing. She was painfully aware that the bread she wanted was right next to where everyone was standing, and she'd probably have to ask Demetrius if he could move so she could get to it. But instead of going over to do that, Penny waited a while in the canned goods aisle.

"You should come around and meet George, dear," said Evelyn, "I'll make you some cookies, have you ever made cookies, John?"

_John. That must be the farmer._

"No, never, Mrs. Mullner," came a warm voice.

"Oh well I'll have to teach you my recipe!" The excitement in Evelyn's voice grew. She was always sharing her cookie recipe, almost as if she was determined not to let it die with her. "And you can call me 'Granny' if you'd like, dear."

"Okay, Granny," John laughed.

Penny shuffled over to her right and peered through a gap in the shelves.

"John, we're just about to head off," said Demetrius, clasping a box of detergent he'd just bought. "Listen, if you're interested, swing by the house some time, I'll show you some of the soil samples I took a few weeks ago from your farm."

"That'd be great." John smiled and shook Demetrius' hand as he and Robin made their way towards the door. "Nice to meet you!"

"You too!" Demetrius chimed back.

Penny made sure to duck away in case being spotted led to being introduced to John. She knew it was inevitable, but it didn't have to be now, did it?

It was a little while before Evelyn left too, doddering creakily towards the exit and slowly, weakly, pulling the door open to leave. Penny hadn't really been listening after Evelyn left, but was vaguely aware that John and Pierre's conversation had covered a range of topics, from Joja Mart to the beauty of the valley. She only tuned in when she realized Pierre was directing John straight to her.

"John, by the way," said Pierre, clearing his throat, "if you're looking for more seeds, I've got some in the aisle over there."

Penny didn't need to see where Pierre was pointing to know that he was pointing towards her aisle. She was close enough to touch the seeds. Before she could move, someone rounded the corner of the small aisle and was walking towards her. She turned away, pretending to be extremely interested in the assorted vegetables in front of her.

"Hi there," said a voice from behind her. It was John. "I've just moved in to the farm up the way. I'm John."

Penny swallowed hard. She turned gingerly to face him. He wasn't even dressed how she'd imagined a farmer. He was wearing some sort of black work shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some very dirty looking jeans. She'd guessed the dirt part correctly, at least. He had a head of short, messy earthy-brown hair and facial hair that was somewhere between stubble and a small beard. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she hadn't actually said anything yet, and she was just looking at him, silently.

"…Hi." She said, finally, feeling an enormous sense of relief from just getting a single word out. "I'm Penny."

"It's nice to meet you, Penny." John smiled warmly and extended his hand. She grabbed it gently and shook it, before quickly turning her attention back to the vegetables. After a few moments, she realized that John was still paying her attention.

"I'm sorry, did you want something?"

"Oh, no," John reddened slightly and turned away to face the seeds, "I'm just introducing myself to the town, is all."

Penny cringed internally. She didn't mean to come across as rude or unwelcoming, but somehow she always sounded cold when she met new people. It was all just so awkward, how did people do it so often, and so easily? It baffled her. It was one of the reasons she loved Stardew Valley so much; everyone that she'd see on a daily basis was someone she'd already met. She often didn't need to deal with new people at all. Suddenly dealing with one now was tricky. She just hoped he didn't think she was rude or curt with him.

Realizing that no one was by the bread, Penny moved over to that corner of the shop and grabbed some multigrain bread. She left the right amount of coins on the counter for Pierre, who gave her a warm "thanks, Penny" and a smile, before moving over to deposit the cash in the register. Bread in one hand and book in the other, Penny left the shop, trying desperately not to catch John's eye on the way out, for fear that she'd see him looking at her as if she'd insulted him. But she was out now, and knew exactly where she was headed. The bread didn't need to be taken home straight away, so instead of heading left, she crossed the small town square in front of her.

Just down the street was her favorite spot, on a soft patch of grass next to a gorgeous grand oak tree. Putting the bread down, she sat down cross-legged on the grass, ensuring to smooth out her skirt, and opened her book. It didn't take long for Penny to escape the awkwardness of what had just happened, or the worries of what her mom was up to, or the never-ending stream of thoughts about how she could help her mom, or her consuming desire to move out of the trailer, or her desperate pleading with herself to be more sociable. All of that slipped away.

Instead, her mind was transported elsewhere, to a world where none of that even threatened to exist. Books, and the universes within them, were her ultimate refuge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Tuesday, Spring 2nd, Year 1.**  
>  First encounters are always tough - little does Penny know there are many more encounters to follow as their relationship develops.
> 
> Please let me know what you think - I love hearing from everybody - and thank you very much for reading! 🤗 Have an awesome day.


	2. The Unexpected Lesson - Spring 23rd

"Okay, Jas, now what about this one?" Penny pointed her pencil at Jas' maths worksheet, something she had managed to create and print off here, at the library.

"Umm…" Jas contorted her face in concentration. After about ten seconds she exhaled loudly. "I don't know. Multiplication is hard!"

"It _is_ hard. They're big numbers." Penny smiled, patting Jas on the back. "But you'll get it soon, I promise." She glanced over at her only other student. "Vincent? How's it going?"

"Tricky, Miss Penny," Vincent mumbled through the eraser in his mouth, staring at the worksheet. "I think I got it though."  
"Great," Penny leaned over to have a look at his sheet. "You let me know if you're struggling, okay?"

Vincent nodded, his eyes still glued to the page. Penny leaned back in her sitting position. The three of them were sitting on large padded cushions around a small table in the town library. Stardew Valley didn't have a school house, so Penny took it upon herself to teach the town's kids, Jas and Vincent, as best she could. It was a modest set-up, to say the least, but she made it work. These days she found herself reading more educational books than fiction, and she spent a large portion of her free time forming lessons for the kids. She was by no means a teacher, at least not by any official standard, but she wanted to do her best for them.

The kids were well behaved… Most of the time, at least. There were days when it was incredibly difficult to get them to concentrate on their work, rather than making silly faces at each other or throwing things around. Vincent was the easiest to keep in line. For some reason, as long as Penny was stern with him, and attempted to show disappointment when he misbehaved, Vincent could do nothing else but comply. As soon as he'd start working, Jas would know the game was up.

Still, Penny had to hand it to them that, on the whole, they were very good kids. In fact, if anyone were to state otherwise, she'd get very protective. _They're my hard-working little students, and sure, they act up sometimes, but kids are kids, aren't they?_ Penny thought, resolvedly. She was proud of them as her own. And in the absence of a viable future with her own kids - because there was no way she'd raise _her_ kids in a trailer - they'd have to fill that void.

Their families were more than happy for Penny to take the kids on; more than anything they were relieved that they didn't have to ship their kids away from the valley every day just to get an education. On top of paying her weekly, Marnie - Jas' mother - had once baked her a lovely pink cream cake to say thank you, and from that point onwards had made sure to bake one on Penny's birthday each year. Vincent's mom Jodi was a single mother, waiting for her husband to return from service. She was certainly very happy for Penny to take Vincent off her hands for a little while and give her a chance to recuperate.

The library itself was really cozy. The carved oak shelves were stuffed with books on a plethora of subjects and the entire place was built for comfort; a warm, noiseless atmosphere and large, plush cushions to sit on. It was easily Penny's favorite building in the whole valley; a far cry from her trailer.

The entire building, considering what it was, wasn't very big at all. In Penny's opinion, that trebled its coziness. It all flowed as one room, from the reception through to the library and then straight through from there to the museum, which was practically empty. The museum's curator, Gunther, was desperate to find new material for the museum and was often asking anyone who entered to keep an eye out for items that might be of interest. Which meant that every time Penny stepped through the door, she was greeted with a hearty "got anything for me?" and a tip of his large blue feathered cap, to which she always replied "not this time, Gunther," much to Gunter's disappointment.

"Miss Penny, are you going to the Flower Dance tomorrow?" said Vincent, peeling his eyes away from the worksheet.

"I am, Vincent." Penny shuffled around the scattered notes in front of her, trying to find her answer sheet to help Jas. "Your brother usually asks me to dance."

"Yeah I know," Vincent was now chewing the end of his pencil. "Sam's excited about it. He's going to show off his skateboard tricks."

Although she knew that Vincent meant Sam was excited about his tricks, it still gave her butterflies in her stomach.

The Flower Dance was an annual event in a beautiful and remote clearing in Cindersap Forest. It was a tradition passed down from the older generations of Pelican Town, and yet for some reason they never really got involved in the dance, but simply stood aside to watch the young adults. The whole event was a very curious thing, and it always brought with it an equally curious feeling for Penny.

All year, she'd be both dreading and dreaming about the Flower Dance. It was so nice to dance with Sam, to have that intimate contact, that closeness. And yet at the same time it was terrifying. Socialising, _dancing_ no less, with a very large group of people was incredibly nerve-wracking. These powerful conflicting feelings often culminated in an unyielding sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she felt heavy and unbalanced, as if her bowels had been replaced with a gallon of sloshing warm water.

She made sure each year to ask Evelyn if she could bring along some of her dandelion broth, because it always helped soothe her stomach. Evelyn, of course, was delighted by this, and Penny didn't have the heart, nor see the need, to tell her that she despised the taste. Penny shook her head, and tried to forget about it, in case any sickness arose prematurely.

There was a small clattering noise coming from outside, just before Gunther came marching triumphantly through the main door, followed along closely by John.

"It's really quite interesting, actually," babbled Gunther, waggling his finger and leading John through the library. John was using both arms to clutch a few strange-looking odds and ends. "What you've got there is a fire opal, and it's called that because of those deep red spots. They were once used for…" Gunther spun around to face John, and plucked something out of the pile he was holding. He held it up to the light. "…Oooh," he ogled at whatever it was he'd pinched out, "Forget the fire opal, this is a magnificent find."

"What's that?" Jas piped up as Gunter admired the item. She was clearly much more interested in whatever that was than what the answer was to question fifteen.

Before answering, Gunther looked down at her sharply over his semi-circular glasses, almost as if he hadn't realized anyone else was there. He turned his gaze to Penny. "Penny, I'm not interrupting with this, am I?"

Penny tapped her pen against her lip and eyed the small grey thing Gunther was holding. "No, it's okay." She eventually conceded. "It's probably good stuff for the kids to learn, right guys?" She glanced at both of them.

"Yeah!" Jas and Vincent exclaimed in unison, all too eager to close their maths books and turn their attention to Gunther. Penny smiled, shaking her head slightly.

"Great," said Gunther, sitting down on a big cushion at the other side of the table. "John," he said, gesturing with his free hand, "come on over, I'll catalogue them later."

John, still carrying several strange things in his arms, carefully made his way over to the table and very gently deposited everything on the table, taking extra precautions not to damage anything.

"So," Gunther showed them what he was holding, "this is an ancient arrowhead. This was used as the tip of a spear or an arrow a long, long time ago to hunt for food. Incredible." It sounded less like Gunther was explaining things to the kids and more like he was letting his inner monologue of fascination spill out. "Kids, can you guess how old this is?"

The kids both started guessing seemingly random numbers. Jas settled on "about a hundred years" whilst Vincent declared that it must be _at least_ a million years old. While the kids were enamored by Gunther's next story about a dwarven scroll, Penny found herself absent-mindedly watching John, intrigued. Just before she could look away, he caught her eye.

"I found them buried," said John, leaning in to talk to her. "Started digging up the ground to get the land ready for crops and… well there they were."

Penny, now certain that she couldn't pretend she hadn't been curious, turned back to face him. "That's amazing."

"Yeah," John smiled, brightly. "Look at this one," John placed a small purple gem on the table in front of her. "That's what Gunther was talking about, the fire opal. See the red spots?"

Penny nodded, picking up the stone and turning it over in her hands. "And um," Penny cleared her throat, admiring the gem, "this was in the ground too?"

"It was in a rock I smashed." John smiled again, a tone of pride in his voice. "It's really cool. I'd give it to you, but I think Gunther would sooner eat clay than let me take it away from his collection." He chuckled, holding his hand out to take it back.

Penny found herself smiling at the sentiment of being given a rare gem, a little flattered. "It's beautiful." She handed it back to John, showed him her smile, and turned her attention back to Gunther, trying to conceal her slight blush.

"Ewww!" Jas squealed, covering her eyes. "They used a _stick_ to clean their teeth?"

"Yes they did!" squawked Gunther, excitedly, now waving around a chewing stick. "No mouthwash, no toothpaste, this is just a very early toothbrush!" Jas and Vincent were caught between a state of laughter and disgust. "Anyway, John," Gunther stood up from the cushion and began carefully picking up the rest of the artifacts from the table. "I'm going to tidy this away and set it up in the museum. Incredible finds, seriously. Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" John watched him as he hurried towards the museum section of the room, a happy jig in his step. "Well, I suppose I should go too." John got to his feet and stretched out his arms. They were slightly bulkier than Penny had remembered. "Got some more work to do. This farming business is taking its toll on me, that's for sure."

"Are you going to the Flower Dance, mister?" Vincent asked, probably to delay returning to the dreaded maths worksheet.

"I sure am, buddy." John grinned, still stretching his arm behind his head, wincing slightly at what must have been muscle pain. "Are you?"

"Yeah. Not dancing though." He stuck his tongue out at Jas, who giggled. "Who's dancing with you?"

John gave a small chuckle. "Not a clue! Been cooped up on the farm." John lowered his arms and was now stretching out his left leg in front of him. He paused, and turned his cheery gaze towards Penny. "Perhaps Penny here would do me the honor?"

Penny's face turned a rosy scarlet. She tried to pretend not to have heard, but she knew her face had given the game away. Swallowing hard, she tried in silence to think of the kindest rejection she could with a meek smile. But Vincent saved her.

"Miss Penny's dancing with my brother."

"Oh well," said John, finishing his stretch and straightening out his shirt. "Maybe I'll rope Marnie into dancing with me," chuckled John, to the sound of titters and giggles from Jas and Vincent. "Anyway, I'm heading out. See you kids, see you Penny!" And with that, John was on his way out the door, swinging his arms to exercise them as he went.

"Still can't believe Abigail won the Egg Hunt." Vincent moaned, once again trying to distract Penny from his maths. "I was so close to winning!"

"I know," said Penny gently, slightly distracted as she watched John leave. "But we've got some maths to focus on, don't we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **23rd, Spring, Year 1.**
> 
> **Side note:** Penny's actually donated a piece of pottery to Gunther before, but for the purposes of this story that hasn't happened yet... just in case you were wondering!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading 😊 We're just getting started~
> 
> Please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you! Have an awesome day~


	3. I Like to Cook - Summer 14th

It was another cloudless, lazy, hazy day. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the air was thick with the smell of blooming flowers and backyard barbecues. Penny drank in the warm, fragrant air, savoring each lungful. There were no kids to teach, no lessons to worry about, and no classes to plan. Summer had come to Stardew Valley.

Penny was lying down on the lawn, running her hands through the soft blades of grass. She was back in her favorite spot in town, on the lawn by the big tree at the end of Willow Lane. Her favorite summertime book, _Juminos and Other Assorted Fables_ , was open, resting on her chest. Even with her loose yellow blouse and light pink skirt, the daytime heat was almost too much. Her vibrant red hair was held back with a couple more clips than usual, as she was eager to keep it off her neck to keep cool. With nothing but the gentle humming of Pelican Town and the tickling of the soft summer breeze across her face, Penny's eyes narrowed sleepily to a close. Just like when she was reading a book, she'd been taken to another world, where there was nothing to worry about, and peace was all that existed.

"Penny?" John's voice washed gently over her. After several seconds of letting his voice sink in, she suddenly realized that his voice came from the real world. Her eyes opened to the bright summer sky, and the trance-like state came to an end. She pulled herself up quickly to a sitting position to see John standing in front of her, clutching something large and round. His face was shadowed by the shimmering sun behind him.

"John? Hey. Do you… do you need something?" Penny stuttered, caught off guard as she straightened out her skirt on her legs.

"No, but I've got something for you." John knelt down beside her on the grass. As he drew closer, the shadow dissipated and Penny could see a broad smile across his face. "Here." He stretched out his arm and handed over the round object. It was a large, juicy-looking melon. She took it from him slowly, surprised at how heavy it was when she held it in both hands.

"Wow." Penny smiled warmly, admiring the beautifully grown fruit. "This is for me? I love melon."

"That's great! Mayor Lewis said you would." John moved from his kneeling position with a small grunt to sit down next to her. "Yeah it's for you. I've had lots of leftovers off the farm, been handing them out." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small tupperware box, opening it to reveal some large assorted blueberries. "Mayor Lewis loves these." He grinned, popping one into his mouth. "Want one?" He held out the box towards her.

"No, thank you." Penny smiled, pushing some loose hair out of her face, not able to clip it back properly with the melon in her hands. She blushed slightly, feeling a little awkward. "I'm more than happy with the melon, thank you. It looks great."

"I hope so." John grinned, mumbling through a mouth of blueberries. "Oh hey, you'll probably know," John set the box down on the grass and reached into a different pocket of his heavy brown jacket, embellished only by six black plastic buttons. Now that Penny thought about it, it seemed odd that he was wearing a jacket in the heat of the summer. Asking about it would be much too awkward, though. Out of his other pocket he produced two wrapped packages. Through the plastic wrapping, Penny could see that they were two huge circular lollipops, with a thick and sickly-sweet rainbow-patterned glazing. "Do you know where Jas and Vincent are?" John set them down on top of the small box of blueberries. "Thought they'd be bored with just fruit or veg, so I made them these."

Penny's eyes widened ever so slightly. "You made them yourself?"

"Yeah, I did, actually." John sat up straight, clearly proud of his creation. "Got the recipe off a guy up near the mountains, called a 'Miner's Treat', apparently." John drummed his chin with his fingers. "Maybe the joke is that it's for minors?"

"I like to cook," said Penny, stopping herself before she went any further. That wasn't at all what she'd meant to say. She'd meant to compliment the lollipops, or thank him again for the melon, or tell him she didn't know where the kids were, or maybe even tell him that she didn't keep track of the kids during the summer. But instead, without her own input, she'd said that. It was slightly upsetting, because right up until that point she was proud of how well she'd been keeping up a casual conversation. She blushed slightly again, this time at her own internal awkwardness.

"Me too! You should swing by sometime, I'll show you how to make these, if you like?" John picked up the lollipops and waved them around a little. "They're really simple."

Penny's blush deepened. In her mind, her face now matched her hair. "Sure."

"Great. Anyway, uh," John waved the lollipops again, " _do_ you know where they are?"

"Oh, actually no, I'm sorry." Penny brushed her hair back again, partly to move the hair but partly so that her hand could cover her residual blush.

"That's okay." John picked up the blueberry box and placed it back in his pocket. He got to his feet, lollipops still in hand. "I hope you enjoy the melon, I'm going to go find those ki-"

"Damn it!" An angry voice boomed from the other side of town.

"What was that?" said John, his voice wavering. Penny turned around and got to her feet, equally bemused.

"Sounded like Mr. Mullner."

Penny left her book and melon on the ground and began walking towards the Stardrop Saloon. It had sounded like George Mullner, Evelyn's elderly wheelchair-bound husband, and it wasn't the first time she'd heard him frustrated at something, either. She walked briskly past the saloon and rounded the corner. The town was strangely quiet, presumably because everyone was further up near the old community center, enjoying the grasslands in the sunshine. Regardless, as Penny drew closer to George and Evelyn's house, she spotted George desperately trying to reach into his mailbox. He looked incredibly frail, his arm shaking as he stretched out, his balding head gleaming in the bright sun. The mail was just about out of his reach, and it was clear that he was getting increasingly frustrated. Swallowing and trying to stifle her inner introvert, Penny approached George from the side.

"Here, let me help you, Mr. Mullner." Penny smiled as brightly as she could as she swept around behind George and gently wheeled him to the side. She reached in and pulled out three letters, and extended her arm to offer them. "Here you go!" She smiled a second time, this time because she was proud that she'd been able to make herself help out. But her smile quickly faded as she spotted George's snarling, infuriated expression. He was suddenly very red in the face, and his right eyebrow was twitching sporadically.

"I could have done it myself!" He barked, snatching the letters out of Penny's hand, a bulging vein pulsating vigorously on his forehead. With a spluttering cough, he added, "And I can certainly move around on my own! How feeble do you think I am?"

Penny was completely taken aback. Entirely at a loss for words, her face flushed a deep, dark red. She had no idea what to say, she _knew_ that intervening was a bad idea. _You're so bad with people! You're a self-made social pariah! You should stick to kids and books! What's wrong with you?_ Penny thought, angrily. She wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or angry. George grunted and cocked his head to peer behind Penny.

"John!" George barked. John was standing a few meters behind Penny, holding both the book and the melon. "Are you watching us?"

Penny turned around to face him. A small tear was streaking down her face, but she tried to wipe it away as quickly as she could. _Oh great,_ Penny thought. _In what world would tears help this situation?_ Despite her best effort, John seemed to spot it. He frowned at her, a frown that softened into a kindly smile.

"I was," John replied, stepping closer towards the both of them. "You did a kind thing there, Penny."

Penny smiled meekly, still trying to casually wipe her eyes. "Thank you…" Her face blushed a rosy scarlet. She lowered her voice to a whisper, hoping not to let George hear from behind her. "I just wish George wasn't so upset… I was only trying to help."

"No, no," came George's voice from behind her. Penny winced. He'd heard her. "I'm sorry, miss. I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

"That's okay, Mr. Mullner." Penny cleared her throat and straightened up, pivoting around and trying to regain any appearance of confidence that she could muster. "I understand."

George gave a gruff nod and an unintelligible grunt to the both of them, before wheeling himself around and back inside his house. Penny turned back to face John, forcing a smile onto her face. Almost as if she was thinking out loud, she found herself once again saying something before she even realized she wanted to say it.

"It must be difficult to grow old…" As soon as the words came out, she felt ashamed for having called George 'old'. While it was certainly true that he _was_ old, Penny felt that it wasn't the kind of thing you just blurt out. She scolded herself internally for judging him. John, however, didn't seem to flinch or disapprove of what she said. Instead, he paused, looked over slowly at George's house behind Penny, then back at her.

"That's why we should respect our elders," he nodded.

Penny couldn't help but smile, and this time it wasn't forced at all. "That's nice of you to say…" she added with a reciprocal nod, wiping the last residual dampness off her cheek. "I totally agree with you. We should treat our elders with the same respect we hope to receive some day," she said, essentially repeating what she'd always told herself.

John grinned and nodded at her, agreeing. There was a moment of silence between the two. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, but after a few seconds, it was more than Penny could bear.

"Well, it was interesting talking to you, John." Penny pushed her hair back in to place with a gentle smile. "I should go." Cringing at her own shyness, she turned slowly on the spot and was about to walk away.

"Wait, Penny," came John's voice from behind her. She stopped after a couple of steps, and spun around again.

"Yes?"

John extended his arms. "Your book and melon."

Penny laughed nervously and took them from him. With the flash of a smile and a quick "see you later, Penny", John spun around and headed off towards Pierre's. Penny gazed down at the luscious melon in her hands, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14th, Summer, Year 1.
> 
> We've jumped a fair bit through Penny's timeline here, but that's what this story is about - we're jumping between meetings of the two characters. But our jumps will continue to get closer together as the two of them continue to meet more frequently...
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3 Stay tuned for more~
> 
> Side note from Penny: That turned out to be a really tasty melon.


	4. Moonlight Jellies - Summer 28th

Just as quickly as it had arrived, summer was already on the way out. There was a definite chill lingering in the air, and as the days gently shortened and the nights grew darker, Penny reminded herself that Fall wasn't all that bad. Still, she'd had to put a jacket on for the first time in a few gloriously warm weeks, which was a little disheartening.

It was, in fact, the very last calendar day that Stardew Valley recognized as being officially summertime. As was common in their joyful little hamlet, Pelican Town was gearing up to celebrate the turning of the season, with their final summer jamboree. The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.

Unlike the Flower Dance, the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies wasn't actually a dance at all. Instead, it was a mass migration of jellyfish along their coastline, as they sought warmer waters for the approaching winter. Penny remembered the first time she saw them when she was little; huge numbers of bright, shining creatures, swimming along in the twinkling starlight. They outshone the moon, outstripped the stars, and had the sun been there, they would've given it a run for its money.

The more Penny thought about it, the more she realized that it was her favorite Pelican Town festival. There wasn't a grand dinner or a big social event or any intrusive tourism. Instead, it was a quiet and mesmerizing appreciation of the beauty of the natural world, and all that was required of her was to watch the strikingly blue jellyfish streak across the ocean canvas.

She'd made arrangements to meet her mom down there, of course, as with every year, around 10pm. Pam was spending as much time as she could at the Stardrop Saloon, soaking in every ounce of booze she could muster before Gus himself closed up the Saloon to come and join the others on the beach. She wasn't worried about her, though. Gus was pretty good at looking after her, and he'd make sure she made it down to the beach in one piece.

Instead, Penny made her way down to the beach with her friend Maru. Maru was Robin and Demetrius' daughter, and she and Penny had always gotten on well. Penny always felt as though Maru was way beyond her in terms of intellect. No matter how much Penny studied, Maru, without reading anything, was a veritable whizz kid at whatever she put her mind to and could easily outshine Penny at most things. She loved tinkering with gadgets and had made a few simple robotic toys herself. And, on top of being a genius in her spare time, she spent the rest of her time working at the medical clinic with Harvey as the only other member of medical staff in Pelican Town. Intimidating as her intelligence was, Penny was pretty comfortable around Maru, and that was something she valued greatly.

"Is your mom coming down this year?" Maru asked, as the two of them made their way down in the twilight across the sand. It was still warm underfoot.

"Yeah, she is." Penny was carefully stepping around the sharp shells and corals that had recently washed up on the beach. "Gus'll probably come down with her."

"So not like last year then," Maru laughed, placing her arm on Penny's shoulders for support as she, too, tiptoed around the sea shells in the dim light. "Remember that?"

Penny laughed, although it really wasn't funny. "Don't remind me."

Last year, Pam hadn't shown up to watch the Moonlight Jellies. When Gus had arrived at the beach, he told Penny that Pam had gone back to her trailer instead. In itself, that was fine, that had happened before. But when Penny arrived home that evening, she was greeted by an unconscious Pam who had, in a very drunken state, broken into Pierre's store during the night, looted a whole load of jams and jellies, and smeared it all over the trailer. Apparently, under the influence of Gus' finest liquor, she couldn't stop giggling at the thought of having her own 'Midnight Jelly Dance' at home. Needless to say, it meant an entire day's worth of deep cleaning the trailer, none of which Pam had helped with.

Thankfully, back then Pam had a job driving the transit bus to Calico Desert, so she could just about afford to pay Pierre back for the jam jars and smashed window. Understandably enough though, Pierre was pretty ticked off. It didn't help that Pam usually shopped at Joja Mart, either. This year, Pierre was anxious to see that Pam made it down to the beach without any more 'incidents'.

"Your mom's crazy," laughed Maru, letting go of Penny as they reached the docks. "I love it."

Penny wanted to remind her that it was in fact a serious problem, but decided it wasn't worth the awkward conversation or silence that would ensue. Instead, she said nothing, smiling, as was her usual guise, and walked side-by-side with Maru up along the main pier.

"Hey, Penny, Maru," Sam's voice called from somewhere amongst the group in front of them. "Check it out!" He was pointing over the edge of the pier and into the sea. As the two drew closer to Sam, they peered over the deck's edge and saw a lone, blue jellyfish. "Early jelly," smirked Sam.

"Really early," added Maru, crouching down to get a closer look. "We haven't even sent the light boat out yet. What's drawn him in?"

"Maybe he's lonely." Sam crouched down beside her. "Or he's here to soak up all the glory for himself."

The jellyfish often didn't come very close to land, unless they were drawn in by something. For reasons that no one in Stardew Valley could agree on, the jellyfish were naturally drawn towards light. Demetrius had once suggested that it might be because the jellyfish navigate by the light of the moon, and seeing another bright object confuses their navigation, drawing them to it.

Then there was the town wizard, what was his name… Rasmodium? Razuldimus? Something like that. The man who lived on the other side of Cindersap Forest from Pelican Town, and claimed a deep connection with the 'mystic energies of the natural world'. He'd once shown up to watch the jellyfish and Penny had overheard him talking to Willy about how the jellyfish were called "Lunaloos" and they were drawn to the light because they sought to harness its energy, and they followed 'imperceptible aura waves' through the ocean's current. Penny knew there was more to the world than what met the eye, and she was sure that the wizard knew of some mystical spirits that she did not, but to her that just sounded like complete nonsense.

Of course, there was also the other theory, that made a sort of sense to Penny; that the jellyfish always swam that close to land, but they absorbed a lot of light, so having a boat with a light on it in the midst of their group just made them glow noticeably bright. That was Harvey's theory, anyway.

Whatever the case was, everyone in Stardew Valley certainly agreed on one thing. They were beautiful. Brilliant. Captivating.

"Okay, we're all here," Mayor Lewis' voice piped up cheerily, a few paces away from Penny, Maru, Sam and Sebastian, who'd just joined them. Lewis was standing on the other edge of the pier, next to the traditional light boat. It was a small, oaken platform, no wider or longer than a wheelbarrow. On top of it rested a simple oil lantern, already aglow.

Penny craned her neck to look around the group. It took her a few moments, but… there she was. Her mom had made it this year, although she didn't look terribly well. Instead of standing on the edge of the pier or along the coastline like everybody else, Pam was leaning up against Willy's fishing shack, looking a little nauseated and very tired. Gus was stood watchfully next to her, and gave Penny a small thumbs up as she turned around. Penny gave a small thankful nod. She's not well, but she's here, Penny thought. That's more than last year.

Everyone else had made it, too. She scanned around the adjacent pier and the stretching beach, spotting a strange silhouette on the coastline, which she was fairly certain was the town wizard. Even the old man who lived in a tent up near the mountains - his name was Linus, as far as she could remember - had managed to make his way down to the coast. He was mostly keeping to himself, although the wizard seemed to be gesturing to him to come over. Linus was wearing some kind of heavy brown jacket, embellished only with six black plastic buttons. Penny's eyes narrowed as she watched him. She recognized the jacket, but didn't remember ever seeing Linus wear anything other than his usual rags. When Lewis started speaking again, Penny jumped slightly, jolted out of deep thought.

"We're going to get started," came Lewis' voice again, a little louder so that he could be heard by the groups gathered on the shoreline. "John, it's your first time, would you like to do the honors?"

John, who'd been staring out to sea a few paces away from everyone else, spun into action upon hearing his name. "What? Oh," his face lit up in surprise and he strolled over to Lewis, "I'd love to."

"Well, when you're ready," Lewis stepped away from the boat, his moustache twitching in excited anticipation. "Give that boat a push out. I think the jellies are ready."

A few moments, a small grunt and a strong push later, John had set the boat on it's course out into the dark ocean. At first, there was nothing. The ocean was cold and dark, lit only by the lonely-looking light boat, a small beacon against the encompassing blackness. But it wasn't lonely for long. After a minute or two, small bulges of blue light surfaced, streaking past the boat and riding the waves. Soon after, more and more began to appear. Before too long, there was more brightness than seemed possible, and almost all of the once-dark ocean had been illuminated in the brilliant, dazzling blue sheen of the Moonlight Jellies. It was a marvel to behold.

Splash!

Spinning around, Penny could only see the spray of water that had been left behind by something large hitting the water. There were screams of terror, and the beach erupted into panicked chaos.

"Jas!" screamed Marnie, and it became very clear, very quickly, just what had fallen in. Jas had gotten too close to the edge, trying to get the best possible view of the jellyfish that she could, before overstepping the edge and crashing through the water.

But she couldn't swim.

Penny immediately went into fight or flight mode. But she couldn't swim either. She would've reached out and grabbed Jas, any of them would, but by the time she had resurfaced she'd already been pushed a few meters out to sea. "Sam!" she screamed, scrambling over to the edge and pointing at Jas thrusting around wildly in the water. "You can swim can't you? You've got to do something!"

"Yeah I-" Sam stopped.

Pounding footsteps erupted along the main strand of the pier, followed by another loud splash! Someone had taken a running leap and a swift dive straight off the pier, and was now swimming frantically towards Jas. A cluster of people formed along the edge, trying to get the best view to see just what was going on. When Penny got around the mass of frantic people, she could see that John was now in the water with Jas. He hoisted her onto his back as he kicked with all of his energy to keep them both afloat and get her over to the shore. Willy, Lewis and Robin were wading in from the shallows to try and meet John in the middle and help get Jas to safety. Marnie was running back along the pier towards the coast to join them.

John trudged through the shallows and sinking sand to meet them, handing Jas over to the three of them in the knee-high water and steadying himself as he did. They quickly carried her over to Marnie, who looked like she was on the verge of crying with relief. Jas, on the other hand, was already crying. She was in total shock over what had just happened, and probably didn't have time to process it all, instead bursting into tears. Marnie squeezed her tightly in her arms, whispering soothing words in her ear.

"Good thing John was here," whispered Maru, her eyes still fixed on Jas.

Penny still had a lot of adrenaline pumping through her, with nowhere to direct it. She felt a rush of immediate gratitude towards John, and immediate adrenaline-fuelled anger at everything else. Anger at the people who could swim but did nothing. And anger at Marnie for letting Jas fall in. And anger that Sam hadn't jumped at the chance to save her without thinking. And anger that the wizard on the shoreline hadn't reacted at all. And anger that Maru had joked about her mom. And anger that her mom drank so much. And anger, and anger and anger!

She exhaled slowly, trying to let her unfounded anger dissipate. Jas was safe, and that was all that mattered. She said nothing as she breathed, trying to calm down quietly.

"Thank you, thank you so much John," Marnie was blubbering weakly on the beach. "Y-you saved her."

"That's okay," John spluttered, coughing up a little seawater. Lewis wrapped a towel around his shoulders, after having given Jas a towel. "Thanks, Lewis. Is she alright?"

"She's fine," Marnie smiled, choking through several small tears. "She's fine."

Jas had stopped crying, at least out loud, and let go of her aunt Marnie. She dashed over and hugged John's soaking jeans. John laughed in surprise, and patted her on the head.

"You know," he said gently, crouching down to her level and holding on to her shoulders. "For a moment there, when I saw you in the water, I thought you were the coolest looking jellyfish I'd ever seen."

Jas grinned, which quickly broke into a short giggle. She wiped some wet hair from her eyes.

"This is the night that you swam as a Moonlight Jelly," John grinned, with a wink. He stood up slowly and tugged the towel further over his shoulders.

Jas spun around excitedly and looked for Vincent. "I was a Moonlight Jelly!" she yelled, running up to him.

"I wanna be a jelly!" Vincent moaned with a hint of sulkiness.

"Don't you dare," laughed Jodi, patting her son on the back. "I think John's had enough swimming for one day."

By this stage, a lot of people had turned their attention back to the jellies. The waters were a little bit rougher, but the beauty of their incandescence, even when mildly distorted, was still unparalleled. Penny, however, was still watching Jas. Then Marnie. Then John.

She'd managed to reason with herself and let go of all the feelings that had boiled up right after Jas fell in. All of her anger had dissipated. The only thing she was left with was a warm feeling of gratitude towards John. It was a strange, somewhat powerful feeling.

"Penny!" Sam held her shoulder to get her attention. "Look at that one, it's bright green!"

For the first time, physical contact with Sam hadn't made her nervous. She didn't really register that at the time, but in retrospect, it was quite significant. Instead of blushing or smiling or feeling butterflies in her stomach, she simply spun around and gazed where she was being directed. There it was. The rare and beautiful green Moonlight Jelly shimmered with a grand emerald glow, just a few meters out to sea away from them.

He was new and unique, and stood out sharply against the rest. Something, she wasn't sure exactly what, but something, was drawing her to him. He was different. He was admirable. He was captivating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sunday, Summer 28th, Year 1.**
> 
> Thanks for reading so far!
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it, stay tuned for more! Please let me know what you think, but more importantly don't forget to have an awesome day ❤️


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